We weren’t sure how long it would take the NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet to make its way out of the rumor mill and into the official news bin, but that question was answered this morning. NVIDIA has announced the device in all its glory, and all the official details are waiting for you ahead.

First thing’s first: the specs

The SHIELD Tablet is about as powerful as you’d expect from NVIDIA with the Santa Clara company stuffing their latest Tegra K1 inside. The Tegra K1 is a 2.2GHz quad-core SoC that features a 192-core GeForce GPU. That ought to be enough to handle all the high quality Tegra games you’ll be able to play on it. Here’s what else to expect:

8-inch 1920 x 1200 display

2GB of RAM

16GB of internal storage for WiFi-only, 32GB for LTE

microSD up to 128GB

5MP front and rear cameras

WiFi N with MIMI 2×2, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS w/ GLONASS

HDMI for video out

NVIDIA DirectStylus 2

221 x 126 x 9.2 mm

390 g

Full-on Android

So the rest of it isn’t quite as mind-blowing as the chipset, but it’s still top-line stuff that should be enough to do anything you’d need a tablet to do.

Features

NVIDIA’s put together a pretty compelling package here, with a few different things setting their offering apart from the competition. For starters, you’ll get the usual collection of over 400 games that are optimized for Tegra with better graphics and physics. NVIDIA’s also touting the ability to stream supported PC games from your GeForce PC to the SHIELD Tablet for an even more robust gaming experience.

If that’s not enough, this is being billed as the first tablet with Twitch streaming built into its core. We knew Twitch was working on mobile games streaming a while ago, but this is the first time we’ve actually seen anything concrete implemented. It’s a great step in the daunting quest of legitimizing mobile gaming.

SHIELD Controller

Also being offered is a controller that can pair with the tablet via direct WiFi connection. NVIDIA says a Direct WiFi connection has more bandwidth than typical Bluetooth-based solutions, and it also provides lower latency so your inputs are pretty much immediate. We’re not sure you’ll need such good performance for mobile gaming, but it definitely can’t hurt.

Pricing and Availability

Wondering when you’ll be able to get one, and for how much? They start at a pretty remarkable $299 for the WiFi-only 16GB version, while the 32GB LTE option will run you $100 more.

That’s a small price to pay for the hardware you’re getting, though we’re sure those costs are being recuperated from the accessories being offered up. The controller will come with its own cost of $60, while a cover that doubles as a tablet stand is also coming for $40. Pre-orders begin today (we’ll have the link in this post as soon as we get it) and will begin shipping in North America starting this month, Europe next month, and the autumn season for everyone else.

Hmmm, might go for this instead of waiting for the next Nexus. My OG N7 is feeling pretty old these days.

ineptone

It seems like a compelling option for anyone in the market for a mobile gaming device. Or even just small tablet. I’m not in the market for either and I was still intrigued. That is, until I remembered it’s running a Tegra SoC. After the issues with support and performance of the Tegra 3 I steer clear of NVIDIA’s SoC offerings.

renz

like original Shield (now called as Shield Portable) and most tegra note 7 the updates will be handled directly by nvidia. and that is right decision. just look how HP handle slate 7 extreme update. they only update the device to 4.4.2 roughly four months after other tegra note 7 device (which update handle by nvidia directly)

Trowez

The support for the Shield Portable has been amazing. Don’t let third-party vendors throw you off of Nvidia chips. Nvidia is very active in the support of Android and mobile gaming in general.

RaiDei

Pretty good deal for a nice 8″ tablet. Not too intrigued by the game streaming, but it’s still a tempting upgrade to my Nexus 7 (2013). Hell, the SD storage alone is making me consider it.

Scott Stafford

Could I play a game like hearthstone streamed from my pc using the screen as my input device?

Trowez

I would think so since touch turns into your mouse when using Gamestream, and since Hearthstone is almost all mouse operated, you should be fine. Hopefully the native Android version will be out before too long.

Trowez

I’ve already pre-ordered my tablet, case and controller from Amazon. Looks really top notch. It is also a plus that I can get rid my Nexus 7 now as well. That is one less device to keep up with (I also have a Shield Portable that this will replace). And to top it off Square-Enix finally added gamepad support to Final Fantasy III (hopefully their other games will follow soon). This has been a great day for Android gaming in my book.

Martin Lane

I will be buying one of these, amazing for the price, best mobile gaming device.

That is pretty sweet, I just wonder if the nvidia games will be compatible with moga power pro controller? The wifif direct controller sounds interesting…I will probably be asking for this for christmas